


Echo

by amwriting



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: A generous sprinkle of angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Related, M/M, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24045151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amwriting/pseuds/amwriting
Summary: “Just because the past didn’t turn out like you wanted it to doesn’t mean your future can’t be better than you imagined.”*Let's just say Yuki and Kyo accidentally go forward in time and are met with the harsh reality of an older version of themselves.
Relationships: Sohma Kyou/Sohma Yuki
Comments: 14
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Alright listen
> 
> I know Hatori is a medical professional, not a sorcerer magician man. But for the sake of the story, just roll with it haha

"Don't you ever get tired of being so obnoxious?"

"Can you just shut the fuck up and leave me alone?"

Shigure sighed, hearing the argument going on behind him. 

He should've known better than to bring them both along, but it's not like he's parent of the year. 

He'd promised Hatori that he would bring Yuki by his office, but also managed to lose a bet with Kyo that resulted in him promising to take Kyo with him the next time he went grocery shopping. 

So here he was. Foolishly assuming the two could just walk beside each other long enough to get Yuki to the Sohma house, without an attempted murder. 

"I _was_ being quiet. I only started speaking to ask you to close your damn mouth."

"Listen you damn rat, the only reason we're even _having_ this conversation is because I agreed to walk your grown ass to your doctor appointment."

"I didn't need anybody to walk with me. _Shigure_ is the one that insisted I couldn't go alone."

Shigure decided to intervene. "Yes, because I can't trust you to be honest with your results, and Hatori doesn't want to betray your trust again."

Yuki rolled his eyes and looked away from both of them. 

Shigure managed to keep them quiet as they walked onto the large property, and entered the house together. 

He knew where Hatori's office was, and gestured to it with his hand. "Why don't you two wait in there? I'll be right back."

Yuki didn't respond, just opened the door to walk through it without waiting for Kyo to follow. 

Kyo only paused to speak to Shigure, trying to be quiet so Yuki wouldn't hear. "Are you sure I should be in here?"

"Yes, I'm gonna go tell Akito right now. Don't worry."

Kyo just nodded, and put his head down to follow Yuki. 

Yuki sat down in the chair near the center of the room, as he'd done a hundred times before.

Kyo stood awkwardly in the room, not sure where to stand or sit or anything of the sort.

Without being able to help himself, he started walking around to look at all of the things on the counter tops. 

Yuki couldn't help but speak. "It's not like I want to be here, okay?"

Kyo glanced back at him, but continued flipping through the large medical books he found. "What?"

"Just. I know you and Shigure had plans today, but I didn't _ask_ to be escorted down here like a lost toddler."

Kyo just shrugged, setting down a book and moving on to the next one. "Whatever."

Yuki looked down at his lap at that answer, getting the message that Kyo didn't want to talk anymore. 

The silence in the room seemed to make Kyo even more anxious, as he started peeking into drawers as well. 

Yuki kept glancing at the door, wondering if Hatori was going to walk in and catch Kyo snooping around. "Hey, don't you have any sense of boundaries? None of that belongs to you."

"You wanna fight about it?" Kyo responded almost automatically, but there wasn't any feeling behind it. 

"Y'know, I might actually get along with you if you'd stop resorting to fighting to solve all your problems."

Kyo scoffed. "Oh please. You and I getting along? Maybe in another life, dude."

He continued picking things up, and looking through books. 

Yuki looked back down at his knees, deciding it wasn't worth an argument. "I just wish you could see how much easier it would be if we didn't argue all the time."

With his eyes downcast, he had no idea how the event happened. 

He could swear he only looked down for a second, but suddenly he noticed a bright flash that somewhat resembled the flash he saw when his Zodiac took over. 

Yuki looked up quickly, only to see that he wasn't in the office anymore. 

In fact, he wasn't really sure _where_ he was.

He was sitting on the curb of a street that he's never seen before, in a neighborhood that didn't look familiar. 

Yuki hated to admit it, but he was actually grateful to see Kyo standing beside him, because Kyo was the only remotely familiar thing he could see. 

Kyo looked just as shocked, standing almost completely still. "What the fuck..?"

"Kyo... What did you do?" Yuki stood up slowly, allowing his confusion to be apparent. 

"I--I don't know." Kyo looked down at his hands, to see if he was still holding whatever it was. "I don't remember."

Yuki scanned up and down the street, to search for a landmark he might recognize, but fell flat. "I'm a little uncertain about where we are." 

"Yeah, me too." Kyo turned around to search behind them, seeing a large house positioned there. "Everything looks kinda weird."

Yuki followed his line of sight, and noticed that the houses didn't look similar to the ones he knew from his home town. 

He was about to speak again, when the door to the house opened. 

Yuki felt his blood go cold in shock, as he tried to comprehend what his eyes were seeing. 

A somewhat tall man with bright orange hair walked out of the house, picking up a small box from his porch. 

When the man looked up, he finally noticed the two young boys standing at the edge of the driveway, and he froze. 

Kyo made direct eye contact with bright orange eyes similar to his own. "What the fuck?"

The tall man in front of them leaned back slightly to shout inside his house, without breaking eye contact. "Hey, Ki? Can you come here?"

Yuki couldn't even find the words. It had to be a coincidence, right? People have doppelgangers, that's totally normal. 

So what if this person looked almost exactly like Kyo? He didn't sound like him at all. 

He felt the confusion set in a little more when he watched another grown man walk out of the house. 

Which led the four of them to stand across the yard from each other, just staring. 

The tallest of the two adults suddenly held a friendly hand up toward the younger boys. "Hey! Do I know you from somewhere?"

*

Yuki and Kyo now sat beside each other on a large couch, in a very unfamiliar home. 

Yuki spoke to the two adults across from them, on a different couch. "I don't understand what's happening. I mean, how is this possible?"

Kyo didn't speak, from where he sat just staring at the older version of himself.

The oldest Yuki gave him a kind smile. "I'm afraid I don't really have an answer. I can try to get in contact with Hatori, but I might need a few days. We don't really communicate with them, since we moved away."

Yuki glanced at Kyo, who was still just staring, before he looked back to his copy. "You and... Other Kyo live here by yourselves?"

A nod. "I don't want to overwhelm you. I have no idea where my old inhaler is, and I don't want you to have an asthma attack if I unload too much information."

The older version of Kyo didn't seem to be as concerned, as he placed a hand on the knee of the Yuki he knew. "They need some answers, babe. They're just as confused as we are, without you adding to it by being cryptic."

Kyo's eyes immediately locked on the older Kyo's hand, and he couldn't decide if he felt weird about it. 

Maybe it was normal to do that when you got older. 

Yuki's eyes locked on the same thing, before he looked up at his older self. "I-- I'm sorry, I don't mean to make this difficult for everyone. I'm just... I'm feeling a little anxious at the moment."

The deeper voice of his older self spoke again. "I apologize. Then... Let's just go slowly. So, yes. Kyo and I live here together. We moved away from the family to attend university, but Tohru lives nearby."

Kyo finally spoke, but decided to look at the older Yuki instead of himself, because somehow it was easier. "And, um... How old are you guys, exactly?"

"I just turned twenty eight."

"Oh, wow... You're Shigure's age." He shook his head. "Well, _our_ Shigure. I don't know how old your Shigure is."

The older Yuki smiled at him, easing the tension a little. _"Old._ So that makes you two... Eighteen or nineteen?"

Yuki nodded slowly. "And... You're out of university now?"

The older Kyo was finally the one to speak, meeting the eyes of a young boy he used to know. "Yeah. We left when the curse broke, to leave that whole world behind. Ki and I went to the same school, to get different degrees."

Kyo glanced at the Yuki beside him, before looking across at the other couch. "Wait... _What?_ When the curse broke?"

His older counterpart nodded slowly. "Yeah..? You're eighteen, you should know that already."

"I-- I'm not." Kyo mumbled, as his brain started to shut down. _The curse was gonna break?_

Yuki was on the same page, and he looked like he was gonna be sick any moment. "Next month." He shook his head and spoke with a little more confidence. "He'll be eighteen next month."

The older Yuki leaned forward a little, to reach out and put a hand on Yuki's knee. "I know what you're thinking, and yes. Everything is gonna change for you."

Yuki just nodded slowly.

He then turned to make eye contact with Kyo as well. "And same to you. There will be freedom when you graduate. You're not going to be stuck there."

*

They took a break as the oldest Kyo hurried into the kitchen to get a glass of water for each of the boys. 

Kyo watched him go, and frowned a little. 

He and Yuki were about the same height now, and he had hoped that when he got older he'd finally be taller than Yuki. 

Looks like it's exactly the opposite, unfortunately.

Age seemed to bring Yuki a slender frame to go with his tall body, although he still filled out his outfits well. 

As for himself, it seemed that getting older was going to give him a pretty average height, however it seemed there was gonna come a time that he decided to get ridiculously in shape. 

He wasn't gonna lie about it. His older self was totally hot. Not only was he slim and muscular, but he'd finally trimmed his hair to look decently put together. 

The older Yuki caught Kyo staring, and he smiled. "Must be strange to see that. I mean, I remember what I looked like at _your_ age, but there's no way for you to have known what you'd look like in the future."

Kyo tore his eyes away, just to look at the Yuki speaking to him. "Yeah... It's kinda a lot."

The older Yuki then looked to the younger version of himself. "I'm so curious what your thoughts are."

The old Kyo sat back down on the couch, setting two glasses of water down on the table in front of the younger boys. "Are you out here fishing for compliments? I was only gone for a minute."

His Yuki scoffed at him. "I was just _asking._ You're not curious about what they think?"

The older Kyo scanned his younger self briefly. "I'm a little afraid, to be honest. I mean look how cute I used to be."

Kyo squinted at him. "Don't call me cute."

The older Yuki couldn't help but laugh once, reaching over to throw his arm over his Kyo's shoulders. "Woah, nostalgia. You used to hate that so much."

The older Kyo elbowed his Yuki in the side. "Shut up, you're embarrassing me."

Yuki couldn't help it anymore. "I'm just so glad he and I grew up to be attractive adults. I can't wait to get that haircut."

His older self grinned widely at him. "I know right? It's _so_ much better this way, trust me."

Kyo was still staring at the older Kyo, sitting across from him. He watched as Kyo reached one hand up to scratch his shoulder, underneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. 

Kyo's eyes widened, seeing a glimpse of a tattoo. "Hey, what's that?"

The oldest Yuki turned his head to see what they were talking about, and he smiled widely, speaking proudly. "Ah yes, that's my _favorite_ development. When you're twenty eight, you're gonna be a total heartbreaker."

"Ki, stop it."

"No, I won't. Stop selling yourself so short, babe. You worked your ass off, and now you're walking around like an Adonis."

Kyo watched as his older self looked away from the group, and he recognized the look of embarrassment. "I just meant... You have tattoos?"

When the older Kyo didn't respond, his version of Yuki did. "Yes, he does. Quite a few, actually. And they're all super hot so, you don't have to be modest, Kyo."

Yuki was fascinated by the interaction. It seemed that once the curse broke, Yuki grew up to be a very outgoing person, very willing to talk to people he didn't know very well.

But now he was starting to get a little concerned. It was one thing to see himself and Kyo not arguing, and maybe even getting along. 

This wasn't that, though. The way they were touching and interacting, and even the way they spoke about each other had Yuki feeling anxious. 

Kyo was now talking to the older Yuki. "That's so cool. Like, I thought I was cool _now,_ but damn."

As the conversation continued, the older version of Kyo finally seemed to take notice of Yuki's discomfort.

After years of spending time with Yuki, he was able to read him pretty well. 

He reached out to place a hand on his Yuki's knee. "Hey, stop talking for a minute." He continued to stare at the younger Yuki, when the conversation died. "What's the matter?"

Yuki looked up at him, and shook his head. "It's nothing."

"I've been living with you for over ten years, Yuki. I know better than that."

Yuki looked back down at the two people across from him, and after staring intently at Kyo's hand on older Yuki's leg, he finally saw it. 

Yuki's eyes widened a little, as it dawned on him. He quickly looked to the older Yuki's hand, to confirm what he thought, and then he immediately felt light headed. 

Apparently, at the ripe age of twenty eight, Yuki had decided to get married to Kyo. 

*

The four of them shared a very awkward dinner, and then the older Yuki showed them to a guest room. 

He pushed open the door, and scanned the room quickly. "I hadn't exactly been expecting guests, y'know. But I hope this is fine?"

Yuki nodded, keeping his eyes down. "This is fine. Thank you so much, I'm sorry to have dragged you into our messy situation."

"Yeah well, a messy situation for you is a messy situation for me too. I promise to call Hatori in the morning, and see what I can do."

"Thank you."

Yuki finally shut the door behind himself, and practically fell over when he made it to the bed. 

Kyo was already sitting there, with his head in his hands. 

Yuki sat beside him. "Hey... This is like, the craziest day of my life. I can take the couch, if that lessens some of the crazy for you."

Kyo just shook his head slowly. "I just... I can't even believe what's going on."

"I know. I'm... I'm pretty shocked, myself. But hopefully Hatori will have some kind of solution."

Kyo was quiet for a few moments, before he spoke softly, keeping his face hidden in his palms. "Did you see the rings too?"

Yuki looked down at his lap, and spoke just as quietly. "Yes."

Kyo didn't speak again, just trying to soak all the information in. 

"Hey, don't freak out about it, alright? I know how much you hate me, and I want to remind you that our reality doesn't have to be like theirs."

One of Kyo's legs suddenly began bouncing up and down nervously. "I know. Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

"Okay. But... Question still stands. You want me to sleep somewhere else?"

Kyo finally looked at him, and he looked just as overwhelmed as Yuki did. "Honestly? I really, really don't. Like, this is all fuckin' crazy right now, and you're like the only normal thing I've got."

*

The older Kyo left early the next morning, probably heading off to work if Kyo had to guess. 

Kyo had accidentally walked out of the room when he was leaving, and caught the adults saying goodbye to each other.

The older Kyo stood in the doorway, speaking softly to his partner. "If.. If Kyo needs something to wear, just find something of mine to give him. I'll try to come home early."

"Okay, I will. Don't worry about it, babe. I can take care of them for a few hours without you."

"I know, just... Please be mindful of their feelings. You tend to ramble when you talk about, y'know. Our relationship. But you should've seen Yuki's little face when he saw my ring, babe. He was terrified."

The older Yuki reached out to slide his arms around Kyo's waist, only to plant a brief kiss onto his lips. "I understand that, honey."

"I just... I want to remind you how that used to feel, babe. I mean, you and I _lived_ it. We know how absolutely paralyzing it was to realize that we cared for each other. Please don't rush them into it."

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"I know you just want everyone to be happy. And I agree that I found happiness when we started dating. But again, please just remember how scary it was. Let them figure it out for themselves."

His partner took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay."

The older Kyo finally placed his hands on Yuki's face, to kiss him once, before stepping away. "And I'm blaming you when the boss asks me why I'm late."

_"You're_ the boss, Kyo-Kyo. That joke isn't funny anymore."

Kyo just grinned at him. "Still pretty funny."

"Absolutely not. Get out." He chuckled after he said it, and then watched Kyo walk away with a fond expression on his face. 

The younger Kyo finally felt safe enough to walk toward him a little. "Hey."

Yuki turned to look at him with a grin. "Ah yes, the early risers. That never goes away, by the way. He literally gets up before the sun, every single day."

Kyo nodded slowly. "Happy to hear it, honestly."

Yuki reached out to lock the front door, and then held a hand out toward Kyo. "Let's see if we can't find you something clean to wear?"

Kyo nodded once, and followed him to the other side of the house to walk into the master bedroom. 

He felt a little out of place as he scanned around their bedroom. Knowing that there might come a time for he and Yuki to willingly choose to share a room was kind of a lot. 

The older Yuki walked over to the closet in the room, and started going through the shirts in there. "He and I share closet space, so. If you see anything, on either side, feel free to grab it."

*

The three of them sat down for lunch together, and Kyo was pleased to see that Yuki would eventually learn how to cook.

As the older Yuki sat down in between them, setting out plates of vegetables and pasta, he smiled at them.

The younger Yuki spoke first. "So... Not to pry, but what does adult Kyo do for a living?"

"Well, let's see... I'm extremely proud of him, so feel free to tell me to stop rambling if I talk too much. After the, uh. The curse broke, he obtained a sense of freedom he'd never seen before."

Kyo took a deep breath at the thought. He'd literally give anything to be free from that stupid fucking curse. 

"And I told him that I was gonna start over, y'know. I wanted to move to a place where I didn't know anybody, so I could start my life. And without the Zodiac spirits looming over us, he and I found no reason to hate each other anymore."

Yuki nodded slowly. "So... You took him with you?"

"Yeah, basically. I couldn't imagine living in a house without him, y'know. Without... At least one person that knew what I'd been through. And... While I saw my freedom as an escape, he saw his as an opportunity."

Kyo squinted at him, as he began to eat what was on the plate in front of him. "What's that mean?"

"Well... We both went to the same university. But I pursued a general education, and then went into a pretty average paying job. Since leaving the Sohma curse, I decided I just wanted to be normal for a little while. And I found freedom in not having to meet everyone's high expectations anymore."

Kyo continued eating, and he nodded along. 

"Meanwhile, Kyo saw his freedom and ran with it. He flew through college and obtained a degree in some form of business marketing, while working two jobs, and also while getting into the best physical shape of his entire life. So when he graduated, he was finally able to get his own martial arts dojo." 

Kyo stopped eating, to stare at him. That had literally been his dream for the longest time. 

The younger Yuki was the next to speak. "So... I don't think I really want to know. But... Did you two start dating _after_ you moved away? Or before?"

"Well... We had some weird tension for a while, and... Dated other people for a little bit. But after we moved here, we decided to try out dating each other for a change."

"And... How was it?"

"I mean, don't let me make you uncomfortable. But I find Kyo to be incredibly attractive. He's like... Equal parts beautiful and sexy, and just... God. He's _everything_ to me. And when I finally got to really know him as more than just a former cat of the Zodiac, I realized that I really admire who he is."

Kyo looked up at him again, before glancing at his own version of Yuki, and then looked back down. 

He wasn't convinced that it was possible. Maybe it happened for the older pair, but there was no way the Yuki he knew would ever feel that way about him. 

But Yuki didn't look at him, just continued to speak to his older self. "I just... Can't even imagine how nice it must be to be living far, far away from the Sohma house."

His older counterpart leaned toward him with a smile, to place his hand on top of Yuki's on top of the table. "You know how well I understand what you went through. And I can promise you that it will get better, honey. You just have to be brave enough to let it."

*

Later that evening, the three of them had sat down to watch a movie, as the oldest Yuki was very excited to show them the television. 

When Kyo finally got home again, he only barely walked in the front door before his partner shot out of his seat to greet him.

Yuki and Kyo stayed on the couch, and listened to them speak. And Yuki felt a little less awkward this time.

The older Kyo had only barely closed the front door behind himself, when Yuki grabbed him in a hug.

His Kyo just smiled, and hugged him back. "Hey, babe. How'd your day go?"

"We watched a bunch of movies. But I made sure they were all old movies, so I didn't spoil anything for their futures."

"Oh, that's pretty smart of you."

The older Yuki leaned away just to kiss him a few times, before stepping away. "How was yours? You look exhausted."

"Yeah. Sorry I couldn't get home earlier, I was swamped."

"It's fine, I know you love what you do."

"Yeah but I love you _more,_ so. Accept my apology, damn it." He snapped light-heartedly.

The taller Yuki leaned down to kiss him again. "Fine, I accept."

His Kyo suddenly pushed him back, remembering that there were other people in the room.

He walked past Yuki to walk over to the couch, and take a seat on the couch beside the younger Yuki. "Hey guys. Sorry, I didn't mean to be graphic and gross in front of you."

The smaller version of Yuki just shrugged. "It's okay. Kind of a weird situation already so, I'm not too bothered."

"I hope he was kind to you today, and didn't say anything totally embarrassing."

The two Yuki's made quick eye contact, and the younger Yuki spoke first. "No, of course not. Just... Talked about how successful and brilliant you are, and I believe there was also talk about you being the sexiest person alive."

The older Kyo cringed at that statement, and he shot a glare to his partner. "I specifically asked you not to, Ki."

The older Yuki shrugged his shoulders, and moved to sit beside his partner on the couch, having to cram himself onto the seat because there wasn't much room. "Can't help myself."

The youngest Yuki came to his defense. "It was very endearing, don't worry."

*

Later that night, Yuki and Kyo laid in bed beside each other. 

Yuki had made the mistake of going to use the restroom too late at night, and when he walked out into the hallway he was fairly sure he could hear the two adults in the other bedroom getting intimate.

It was almost terrifying, to hear his own voice saying things like that, and then hearing Kyo speak back to him. 

Yuki hurried off to the guest room, and immediately shared with Kyo what he'd heard. 

At first they laughed about it, but now that they were laying beside each other in the same bed, it felt... Weird.

Kyo spoke up, after a moment. "Can I just say..? I know it's kinda strange, but... I mean, I kinda get it. When I try to think about... What we might be like, if we _weren't_ cursed. Like, I get it."

"You're saying it's fathomable for us to have a relationship, had we not been cursed?"

"Well... Yeah, I guess. Hearing you -- well, _adult_ you-- explain how they got together, it just. It makes sense, I don't know."

"I guess so." Yuki responded softly. "I mean, you don't find it strange?"

"Yeah a little. But still. I only hated you so much, because I felt like I was born into a position to do so. But seeing these guys, as like. Normal people, getting along... It just makes sense."

Yuki turned to lay on his side, just to stare at Kyo. 

"Don't act like you don't agree with me. You literally told the other Kyo that it was endearing how the other Yuki talks about him."

For whatever reason, Yuki felt that statement hit some kind of chord within him.

Kyo had a point. Hearing the way the older Yuki talked about Kyo, made Yuki feel a sort of longing to obtain something like that. 

Yuki finally responded. "Yes, well... I _do_ think it's very clear how much they care for each other. And I also agree that the love they have for each other is evident. But... I would've thought that would make you uncomfortable?"

Kyo turned to lay on his side as well, just to make eye contact with Yuki. "I'm like... So overjoyed that there's even a chance of our curse being broken, that I honestly... I just want to allow myself to feel happy."

"Elaborate a little?"

"Well, like... I mean. It's not so much about them being a couple, and kissing and all that shit. Just... Them being so happy and proud to be with each other. After all we've been through, I think we deserve that. Don't you?"

Yuki took a deep breath, as he searched Kyo's eyes for any signs of deceit. "And you'd be willing to have that sense of pride and happiness with _me?_ Of all people?"

Kyo took a few moments to think about it, as he stared back into Yuki's eyes. "Y'know what? Yeah. I would. Even if... That means were just friends, or whatever."

"Right. We don't have to end up like these two. But if we did..?"

"It really wouldn't be the worst thing, Yuki. I mean, now I have evidence that you're a pretty well put together, and very attractive adult. So I'm not mad about it."

"Yeah and apparently you're gonna grow up to have the body carved by the Gods, so. I guess there are upsides to it."

Kyo couldn't help but smile a little. "Oh, so you're just agreeing with me so you can have a hot boyfriend?"

"Well... Hopefully getting to know you better will give me more reasons."

**


	2. Chapter Two

The next day was a little of the same. 

The eldest version of Yuki tried to get ahold of Hatori that morning, and ended up on the phone with him for about an hour. 

Yuki and Kyo had been eating lunch at the time, while the older Kyo was already off at work. 

Kyo watched as the older Yuki left the room to take care of the call, and then he turned toward the Yuki he knew. 

Yuki was staring at him. "I can't wait for the day that you and I can move out of Shigure's house. It'll be so nice to be far away."

Kyo blinked at him. "You'd still want me to come with you?"

"Well... Yeah. It kinda made sense when the other Yuki was talking about it. Like, I wouldn't want to go somewhere, without having someone I knew with me."

Kyo nodded slowly. "I mean... Sure, but--"

"Stop agreeing with me and then _disagreeing_ with me. You can be honest with me, Kyo. If... If seeing this possible version of our future is too much for you, you can just tell me you don't wanna come with me."

"It's not that I don't _want_ to, I just." Kyo shook his head and looked back down at his plate. "I don't know what I want, never mind."

Yuki stared at him a moment longer. "And that's okay. Nobody's asking you to know right away. I just want you to know, that I want you to be there with me. But you can still say no."

The older Kyo came home right about then, as the front door closed loudly behind him. 

His partner had only just been walking back into the kitchen, but when he heard the sound, he turned his head quickly to see him. "Oh, hey."

His Kyo walked down the hall toward him, holding a few bags over his arms. "Hey."

Yuki and Kyo stayed at the table, and watched as the older Kyo placed the bags down on the kitchen counter. "Ki, I got your vitamins."

"Oh." The older Yuki stepped up behind him to place a hand on his lower back. "You didn't have to do that, honey. Why didn't you tell me you were going to the store?"

"Well, I wasn't." He held up a small bag that looked like it had come from the pharmacy. "I asked them to refill your old prescription, just in case."

The younger Kyo, still sitting at the table, turned in his seat a little more to ask. "What prescription?"

The older Yuki was still staring at his partner. "My inhaler." He spoke softly, before leaning toward his Kyo a little bit. "Babe, I haven't needed to use it in forever, why would you--?"

"I didn't realize you'd forgotten where it was, until you said so when they first got here." The older Kyo's tone changed, and his younger self recognized the tone well. "You know how I feel about that, Ki, it's irresponsible and unnecessary."

The older Yuki just nodded. "I know that, but it's around here somewhere. You didn't have to go out of your way and pick up another one."

"You were given an inhaler for a reason. What happens when you need to use it and have no idea where it is?" He paused for a moment, for Yuki to answer. "Yeah, exactly. So just-- Now we have another one, and I'm gonna make sure we _both_ know where it is."

Kyo couldn't believe it. Not only had he never heard his future self talk this much since he'd been here, but he couldn't believe the first argument he was going to overhear was about Yuki's safety.

Like, not even a _real_ argument. Just Yuki being self destructive and losing track of his belongings, neither of which were new developments in the Yuki timeline. 

The older Yuki reached out to gently place a hand on the side of his partner's face, in an attempt to turn his head to look at him. "Hey... Thank you for doing that, honey. Why are you getting so riled up about it?"

The older Kyo glanced up at the two younger boys staring at them, and he quickly shoved Yuki's hand away from him, as his eyes shot back down to the counter. "Maybe we should talk about this later."

"No. We're gonna talk about it now. Something upset you about all of this, and I don't want you to bottle it up. Just tell me what's wrong."

"You know _exactly_ what upset me about it, Ki." The older Kyo turned his head to meet his Yuki's eyes. "And you're doing it again. You really want to hash this out in front of these guys?"

"No, no, go ahead. You're just going to remind me how irresponsible it is to--" 

"No, you idiot. What _upsets_ me when you do this shit, is you forget that you're not just hurting yourself. I'm your _partner,_ Yuki." He paused, just to stare intensely into his Yuki's eyes. "When you do stupid shit like this, you hurt me too."

"I'm not oblivious to that fact, I just don't understand how that's relevant to me losing my inhaler. I don't see how it's any of your concern where I--"

The younger Yuki flinched in his seat when the older Kyo slammed his hand down on the counter. 

He recognized the fire in those eyes, as they turned to the older Yuki. "Goddamn it, are you _listening_ to yourself? Are you literally that dense, that you've forgotten all the times I had to take your dumb ass to the hospital because you can't find your own fucking inhaler?"

The older Yuki took a deep breath as he stared at him, knowing better than to get angry alongside him. "I haven't forgotten, honey. And I'm sorry that I put you in that position, but that was over a _year_ ago, and--"

"It's not _about_ that, Yuki! You know damn well that anytime you need my help I am at your side in a heartbeat. You don't have to apologize for something stupid like that." The older Kyo suddenly looked down at the counter again. "You're missing my point."

"Then explain it to me, honey." The older Yuki tried, in an impossibly soft and kind tone.

The older Kyo suddenly flashed his eyes up at the two younger boys, and he felt bad for yelling in front of them. 

His Yuki noticed the redirect in focus, and he tried again. "Hey. Look at me." He paused. "Just tell me what's wrong."

He was shocked to hear that his younger self was the one to start talking, as their grey eyes met across the room. 

The younger Yuki spoke softly to him. "He already has. You're hearing him speak, but you're not listening." He glanced at the younger Kyo, and then looked down at the table. "He just cares about you. And... He's scared of what could happen to you."

The older Yuki stared back at his younger self, but didn't speak. 

The older Kyo spoke instead. "You know how much I hate to admit being afraid, but yeah. I'm _scared,_ babe. It terrifies me to think you might have an asthma attack while no one is home, and you'd have no idea how to find your inhaler. All the times it's happened before, I've been here. But what if I wasn't?"

His partner spoke again, eyes downcast as he mumbled quietly. "I haven't had an attack like that in over a year, Kyo. You don't have to live in fear of that."

"It doesn't matter." His Kyo spoke in the same soft tone. "I need you to take care of yourself, because you're my whole world. And I couldn't bear it if anything ever happened to you."

The younger Kyo felt his heart pang loudly in his chest at the sound of those words, and he had to look away. It felt like such a private moment, even though it was literally himself speaking. 

Yuki seemed to feel the same way, because he looked down at the table when he saw the first kiss go down after the conversation. 

*

When lunch had finished, Kyo couldn't help but notice that his older self had gone outside and not come back. 

He wondered if he still spent most of his time on the roof as an adult, and wandered out into the backyard to check. 

Instead he found his older self sitting on the edge of the porch, just silently staring at the yard. 

Kyo closed the door behind himself, and flinched at how loud it was. "Sorry."

The older Kyo glanced back at him. "Oh, hey. Too much Yuki in there for ya?"

Kyo grinned briefly, and took a seat beside him with his arms resting in his lap. "Yeah, kinda."

"You'll get used to it. His personality takes up a lot of room when he gets older."

Kyo shook his head slowly, and looked up at his larger self. "Such a dramatic change since he was my age, that's all."

"Yeah, I thought that too for a while. But... Those Sohmas had a pretty good hold on him. So when he was free of that, he was free to be whoever he wanted to be."

Kyo was quiet for a few moments. "And... What about you? Or, _us,_ I guess."

The older Kyo pondered that a little more. "I mean... At your age, I knew I had a lot of potential. I just... Felt like nobody could see it. So when the curse broke, and I was finally free of being locked up in that room, I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to get the fuck out of there, and cram as much of my life into the next few years as I could."

"Sounds awesome."

"Yeah, it really is. And the best part is that it's really not a competition anymore. Like, you'd _think_ it would be, because we went to the same school and shit, but no." The older Kyo looked down at the ground, to speak softly. "He just wanted to rest."

"Yuki, you mean?"

The older version of him nodded once. "That's all he ever wanted."

"And you didn't?"

"Hell no, dude, I wanted to _run._ He and I broke free of all that self-fulfilling prophecy shit and I knew I had to go. He had to leave everyone behind to be who he wanted to be, but I had to leave everyone behind to do what I needed to do. I needed to prove to myself, and to Yuki, that I was capable of so much more than anybody ever gave the cat credit for."

Kyo stared up at him. "Y'know... You keep saying that. But like... In theory, I'm only a month away from the curse breaking, and I don't feel that way at all. Like, yeah it'll be nice to move away from the family, but... I don't think I'm capable of all the stuff you did here."

"You are, though. And when the curse breaks, trust me, you're gonna feel it. And as soon as you feel it, you'll know _exactly_ what you have to do."

Kyo stared at him a moment longer, before looking back out toward their backyard. 

His older self glanced down at him, and then slowly reached out to put an arm over his shoulders. "That's not the only thing that's botherin' you. You can tell me."

Kyo felt a little better, with a strong arm over him. "This stuff all makes sense to me. Like. All the freedom after the curse breaks. But... What I _don't_ understand is how that freedom led you and Yuki toward each other."

The bigger version of Kyo smiled at that. "Yeah, well... I don't quite understand it either. I just know that... Growing up in that environment, I never felt like anybody cared what I thought or what I was goin' through. But... He makes me feel seen. And he makes me feel heard. And... That's all _I_ ever really wanted."

Kyo nodded slowly, as he thought about that statement. Could Yuki really provide him with that much?

His older self continued. "It was like... Everything that pushed us apart for so long, was suddenly pulling us together. And... As much as you know I hate admitting shit like this... I needed him. I don't think I would've made it out of there without him."

*

The two Yukis had taken to doing the dishes after lunch, just to chat with each other. 

Yuki had to admit, he really enjoyed how carefree his older self seemed to be. He was fun to talk to, and he gave off such a compassionate and curious energy. 

They stood beside each other at the back door when they were done, just staring at the two Kyos without being able to really hear what they were talking about. 

The older Yuki couldn't help but smile, as he stared at the two orange haired men. "He's really somethin' isn't he?"

"I'm starting to realize that. Yeah." Yuki responded softly.

His older counterpart glanced at him, before staring at his partner again. "Y'know, there's gonna come a day that you allow yourself to have a voice. And it's gonna change your whole life, kiddo."

"You mean when the curse breaks?"

"Well, sort of. The curse breaking, just kind of gives you the opportunity. But even after that, you're gonna find out who you really are. And you're not gonna have to feel guilty for talking about how you feel, and speaking your mind."

Yuki would've described the next event as some kind of husband 6th sense, because the older Kyo suddenly turned to look at the door, and then called Yuki outside. 

The older Yuki couldn't help but smile, as he continued to speak to Yuki. "And y'know what else? You're not gonna have to feel guilty for falling in love. And you won't have to justify yourself to literally anybody. Because nobody's opinion really matters to you, except _his."_

*

That night after dinner, Yuki had followed his older self into the master bedroom to find clothes for the following day. 

Hopefully Hatori would arrive within the next few days, so everyone could get back to their own lives. 

Yuki now stood outside the large closet, while his older counterpart walked inside to find another shirt to offer. 

From where Yuki stood he could just barely see into the bathroom, catching a glimpse of a fogged up mirror. 

Scanning the room further, he could see the older version of Kyo standing in front of said mirror, with a white towel around his hips. 

Yuki couldn't help but stare at him, as several tattoos were littered across his broad, tan back.

He then watched as older Kyo ran his hand through his damp orange hair, to lay the longer strands over the top of his head. 

Older Yuki suddenly came into view, as he leaned past Yuki to see what he was staring at. 

Yuki immediately looked down at the floor, a shameful blush taking over his face. 

The older version of himself just leaned back with a smirk to look at him. "Pretty much the most _gorgeous_ person on the earth, am I right?"

Yuki just kept his eyes down and didn't respond to that. "I apologize, I--I didn't mean--"

"Hey take it easy. What's mine is literally yours, you know that right?"

The older Kyo walked out of the bathroom to glance at them, oblivious to their conversation. "What are you doing to that poor boy, Ki? He looks mortified."

Yuki didn't even look at him when he went by, too afraid that he'd start staring again. For some reason he felt like staring was disrespectful to Kyo. 

The older Yuki watched Kyo without any shame though, eyes scanning up and down his partner slowly. "I didn't do anything, babe." He finally looked back down at Yuki, and gave him a wink. "Anyway... Did you want another button up? Because honestly, I don't wear those much anymore."

Yuki practically whispered, feeling heavily embarrassed. "Anything is fine."

The older Kyo waited for his partner to walk back into the closet, before he walked over to stand beside the shorter Yuki. "Hey. Don't take anything he says seriously. He's just a big goofball."

The older Yuki immediately poked his head out of the closet. "Hey, don't lie to him. You're just trying to make sure you're the favorite parent!"

"We're not his parents, Ki. And I don't have to try very hard to do that."

The younger Yuki kept his eyes on the ground, trying not to look at Kyo at all. "Y'know, I'm just gonna go to the guest room, um.. I can get a shirt tomorrow."

The older Yuki popped out of the closet again, holding a comfortable looking shirt out toward Yuki. "Look what you did, babe, now we're _both_ making him uncomfortable."

The younger Yuki just shook his head, taking the shirt and turning to walk out of the room as the other two continued to banter. 

Kyo just scoffed. "You're doing that just fine on your own."

_"I'm_ not the one standing here half naked."

"That's never bothered you before."

"Yeah well it might've at _that_ age."

Yuki was now rushing down the hallway toward the guest room. 

He opened the door quickly, and shut it behind him in just as much of a hurry. 

He tossed the shirt down onto the small bedside table, and then sat down on the edge of the bed. 

Kyo was staring at him, laying across the bed in a very sprawled out way. "Hey, what's up? Look like you saw a ghost or somethin'. Oh, unless you caught them bangin' again."

"Something like that."

"Yikes." Kyo responded shortly, now staring up at the ceiling. "Sorry you had to see that."

"It's not even--" Yuki shook his head, looking down at his lap. He was grateful that his back was to Kyo now, so he wouldn't have to see those bright eyes that he couldn't admit to being slightly attracted to. "Never mind."

Kyo just hummed, already moving on from the subject. "Y'know what's weird? I was talking to-- Well, _myself,_ I guess. But anyway, it's crazy to think that these guys really depended on each other to leave all that Sohma shit behind. Like, the other Kyo was dead set that he wouldn't have been able to get away from it without his version of Yuki."

"Yeah... The other Yuki was saying the same thing. That.. You really helped him find his voice." Yuki admitted softly. "It seems you're very important to me."

Kyo was quiet for a few moments. "Do you think... If Hatori can get us back to whatever time we're supposed to be... Are we still gonna feel this way? Like... Are we still gonna be kinda friends?"

"I'd like to be. If... If you're willing to cease all of our arguments for a while."

"Yeah. I could do that." Kyo answered quietly. 

Yuki was a little bothered by the situation, even after that. 

As he laid down beside Kyo for the night, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. 

He and Kyo had already established that they didn't have to let their futures turn out the same way as the older Kyo and Yuki. 

That they could still have all the benefits of freedom and escape, even if they were just friends. 

But now Yuki felt like he was going to ruin the future for both of them, because he felt some weird attraction to Kyo. 

Maybe he could just ignore it.

After all, if he mentioned these feelings to Kyo and they weren't returned, he could ruin both of their future chances at freedom. 

**


	3. Chapter Three

In the morning, Kyo woke up earlier than he'd wanted. 

He stared at the boy laying in bed beside him, and it almost made him frown to think that they were going to return to their old lives.

As much as he knew that he belonged there, and that he and Yuki _needed_ to go back, it scared him to think that they might go back and forget about all they'd talked about.

Yuki didn't stir, as Kyo climbed out of the bed.

He immediately left the room to head to the bathroom, and was a little startled to see the older Yuki in the kitchen.

He was stood in front of the stove, with a spatula in one hand and a mug in the other. 

Kyo's eyes flashed down at his attire, but felt guilty realizing he was in his underwear.

The older Yuki seemed to notice him, and turned a smile toward him. "Hey, good morning. You're up early."

"I could say the same to you."

"Oh, right. Baby Yuki still gets up around eleven in the morning, huh?"

"Yeah. Figured you'd be the same." Kyo slumped his posture a little to lean on the doorway. 

Older Yuki just took a sip of his coffee. "Yeah, no, I get it. Long story short is that I get these crazy intense nightmares sometimes, and I usually can't sleep afterwards."

"Oh, damn. Sorry."

The older Kyo suddenly walked past him into the kitchen, only to stand beside his partner with a hand on his lower back. "Babe, maybe you should put some pants on."

Older Yuki rolled his eyes, shooting an amused glance at the smaller Kyo standing in the doorway, before speaking back to his partner. "Are you seriously getting jealous of yourself?"

"I'm not. I just--"

"Scared he's gonna fight you for me?" The oldest version of Yuki continued to smirk, knowing that he was being bothersome. 

"You're asking me if I'm scared that my younger self is gonna fight me for my husband? Who is also _his_ husband?"

"Oh, so you wouldn't fight for me?" Older Yuki continued to tease, now facing the stove again to finish whatever he was making. 

Older Kyo finally rolled his eyes, and decided to just let him win. "Of course I'd fight for your annoying ass. But am I gonna fight an aged down version of _myself?_ Probably not."

"That's too bad. He's pretty cute, I might take him on a date while you're at work."

"Do whatever you want, just don't try to make a move on him in public or I'll have to show up to bail you out of jail."

The younger Yuki must've heard them talking, because he was suddenly walking down the hall half asleep, just to stand beside Kyo and lean his weight onto him.

Kyo almost flinched at his sudden presence. "Oh hey."

Without thinking, Yuki slid an arm around his waist loosely, just for some support as he rubbed one of his eyes. "Someone's going on a date?"

"Yeah, me, I guess." Kyo responded softly, trying not to bring attention to where Yuki had placed his arm.

"Which one of you? _You,_ you?"

Kyo couldn't help but smile at how sleepy he sounded. "I'll explain it to you in a few minutes when you wake up a little more."

Yuki just nodded slowly, and his eyes still looked a little lost when he peered into the kitchen. 

The older Yuki was staring at them fondly. "Do you want some coffee, Yuki?"

Older Kyo was already pouring a cup for him, as the younger Yuki nodded. Older Kyo then added, "I'm just gonna make yours like I'd make his. Hope that's okay."

The younger Yuki was finally starting to wake up, as he realized what was going on. "Wait, _who_ are you going on a date with?"

Kyo just grinned at him. "Technically, you."

*

The oldest version of Yuki held true to his word, and took Kyo out to a restaurant in the middle of the day.

He felt a little bad for leaving the other Yuki at home though, so he ordered food for pick up so he and Kyo could bring it back to the house.

Which meant that the date essentially consisted of he and Kyo going for a long walk to the restaurant, and then walking right back. 

They made light conversation, as the older Yuki was mostly just trying to lighten the mood, and make the younger Kyo laugh and smile just as much as he loves to do for his own version of Kyo.

The older Kyo limited the time he spent at work, because he wanted to get back home.

He felt slightly bad for leaving his partner at home by himself to deal with the situation, but also knew that Yuki's situation at his job was more flexible.

The older Kyo arrived home, noticing how quiet the house seemed.

He relaxed a little at the lack of noise, and headed into his own bedroom. 

He wouldn't admit to feeling startled, however he did immediately stop walking, seeing the younger Yuki sitting on his bed with a photo album in hand. 

The older Kyo cleared his throat, not wanting to startle the other person in the room. 

Yuki looked up quickly, and stood abruptly from the bed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your personal--"

"Hey, woah. It's okay for you to be in here, I just didn't wanna scare you. My husband often tells me I'm overwhelmingly light-footed."

Older Kyo walked further into the room, just to squint at the book Yuki was looking at. 

Yuki stared up at him, as he sat back down. "I'm absolutely snooping through his things, but I promise I didn't touch anything of yours."

Older Kyo just hummed, and took a seat beside him on the bed, to lean over his shoulder and stare at the pictures on the page. "You don't have to be so afraid of me all the time."

Yuki felt his heartbeat increase at how close Kyo was sitting to him, but he kept his eyes down on the book in his lap. "No, I know, just... I want to respect your space."

"And I totally understand that, but you should try to remember that... Even though you're physically a little too young for me, I recognize all of the things I fell in love with inside of you. And I don't mean to scare you."

"But I'm not your husband. I'm just... Who he _used_ to be. Before you two got into a relationship."

The older Kyo stared at him for a few seconds, and then reached forward to take the book from Yuki, and start flipping pages quickly. "So you're assuming that when we were your age, I didn't have any feelings for you."

"That's not an assumption. That's a fact." Yuki responded quickly.

"Interesting." He responded, finding whatever page he was looking for, and then placing the book back into Yuki's lap. 

Yuki looked down at the page, seeing a picture of himself and Kyo at an age younger than he currently was.

He recognized it, as a picture Hatori had taken of the two of them.

But it didn't show anything, or prove anything. "So..? Hatori made us take this one."

"Yeah, he did. I'm actually the one that put this album together, so. Go ahead and turn the page."

Yuki did, and stared at the next series of pictures. 

The left side of the book were specifically pictures of Yuki and Kyo together, seemingly without knowledge of the pictures being taken.

The first picture showed Yuki looking away, as Kyo stared at him with a heavily fond look. 

The second picture was similar, as Kyo seemed to be yelling at whoever was taking the picture, with Yuki stood behind him with a grin on his face. 

The right side of the book, was a single picture of the two boys at an age similar to Yuki's current age. 

Older Kyo spoke up again, seeing where Yuki's eyes had landed. "Yeah... That was our first kiss."

Yuki just stared at the picture. "But... Why? I don't understand how things could change so quickly. I mean, the Yuki in this picture looks like he's _my_ age."

The older Kyo took a deep breath to think about an answer, as he reached over to place a hand on the center of Yuki's back. 

It was instinctual for him to want to comfort Yuki, seeing him in such distress. 

"I don't really know, Ki. There's no way to really know why it all happened. And... I know that I was an angry douchbag all the time when we were growing up. But please know that... I fell hard for you. No matter how many times you told me you didn't believe me."

Yuki finally looked at him. "But... I mean, he hates me so much. I don't understand how you could turn on a dime like that."

"Maybe you should ask _him_ about it."

Yuki flinched at the loud sound of the front door opening and closing, and he immediately closed the book in his lap. 

The older Yuki spoke loudly in the house. "Hey, Kyo! Can you come here a second?"

Younger Yuki watched as the older Kyo stood from the bed, excused himself, and walked away.

The older Kyo walked quickly, detecting a small amount of urgency in his partner's voice. "Is something wrong, babe?"

The older Yuki met his eyes as he walked down the hall, and he smiled. "Nothing at all. We brought some food home."

"That's it? Why didn't you just say so? You sounded freaked out."

His husband immediately stepped forward to grab the older Kyo in a hug. "Sorry, just. Feeling very in love with you right now."

The older Kyo didn't hug back, and instead stared down at his younger self from over his partner's shoulder. "What did you do to him, Kyo?"

The younger Kyo shrugged, holding two large bags full of take out containers, but he was grinning. "Not sure."

The older Yuki leaned away briefly, to place his hands on the sides of his husband's face. "It's all his fault, babe."

"How so?"

The older Yuki shook his head slowly. "It's like I'm falling in love with you, all over again."

*

While the two older men began pulling food out to set on the coffee table in front of their couch, the younger Kyo pulled Yuki aside for a moment. 

Kyo pulled Yuki outside onto the back porch, and closed the door behind them.

Yuki was staring at him, standing almost a foot away. "Is everything alright? How was your date?"

"What?" Kyo stared at him. "Everything was fine. Sorry, my brain is a little scattered right now. I just... I wanted to make sure that I remembered to tell you that I know we have our fights and arguments, but that doesn't mean I want any harm to come to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just... It's been easier to hate you, than to address any kind of care I might have for you. And I just don't want you to think that just because we argue, that I'd be okay if you got hurt or something."

Yuki took a moment to mull that over, before he spoke softly. "This experience has certainly given me a different view of you. I may have expected that behavior of you before, but I definitely don't believe that now."

Kyo nodded once, and smiled, feeling like he'd accomplished what he wanted to. "Good, I just wanted to make sure."

When Kyo turned to walk away, Yuki gently wrapped a hand around his wrist. "Wait. I have something to say too."

Kyo's eyes flashed down to his own wrist, before he looked up into Yuki's eyes. "I'm listening."

Yuki didn't remove his hand. "I know that... Our past has often led us to feel mistrust with each other. And... I'm hoping we can work on trusting each other in the future."

"Sounds good to me." Kyo responded genuinely, continuing to smile. "Look at us, being civil with each other."

Yuki let go of his wrist. "I'm just happy that we can talk to each other about these things."

"Yeah well... The older guys make it a little easier. I just felt like I could talk to the other Yuki about it, and then realized that was stupid of me, to trust him and not you."

Yuki chuckled softly, looking down at the ground. "I find it incredibly adorable that spending time with you makes him realize how much love he has for your older self."

"Yeah well... Maybe spending time with him, will do the same for _me._ " Kyo spoke somewhat confidently, but as soon as it was out of his mouth, his eyes widened. "Shit, sorry, that's not what I meant."

**


	4. Chapter Four

That night, the group sat down to enjoy a movie together. 

Once again, the older Yuki made sure to select something that he'd watched as a child, so he wouldn't spoil a movie from the future for the younger two.

He'd filled two glasses of his favorite wine and set them on the table.

He knew his Kyo rarely drank the wine he chose, but it usually resulted in older Yuki getting to drink both glasses so it never hurt to offer it.

After selecting the movie, he set the remote down and then sat himself down on the couch, grinning widely as he squeezed in between the two Kyos. 

The older Kyo huffed in annoyance, as he scooted over to the end of the couch to make room for his partner. "Literally. Why?"

Older Yuki continued to grin, as he threw his arms over the two Kyos at his sides. "Not gonna apologize for being in love."

"Can you at least apologize for being a pain in the ass?" The older Kyo snapped, and then placed a hand on his partner's knee. "And why don't you take your hand off of that boy until you ask him if he's okay with that?"

Kyo didn't want them to argue, so he was quick to respond. "No, no, it's okay."

The older Yuki continued to smirk, his hand sliding down his Kyo's shoulder to run his hand lightly across his partner's chest. "See? I'm a two Kyo kinda guy, I guess."

"Oh, is _that_ so?" Older Kyo muttered, reaching up to squeeze Yuki's hand tightly, just to throw Yuki's arm back toward him so they weren't touching. "Doesn't really work that way."

The older Yuki's smile finally fell, and he frowned. "Don't push me. I have enough love in me for both of you."

As they bantered back and forth, the younger version of Kyo anxiously looked to his version of Yuki to see how he was reacting to the situation.

But Yuki was just staring back at him with a soft smile.

Kyo blinked at him once, and then he returned the smile. 

Rather than allowing his partner's arm around him, the older version of Kyo let his hand slide along the inside of his Yuki's leg as he sat and watched the beginning of the movie.

In response, the older Yuki pulled his arm away from the smaller Kyo to reach out and grab his glass of wine, just to lean into his partner's side.

He tilted his head toward the older Kyo, and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. "Sorry. Love you."

"Love you too. Now drink your wine and hush, so the boys can hear the movie."

The older Yuki smiled when he said that, and stared up at him for a moment longer.

The younger Yuki watched him move, and then decided to take his place in sliding his arm across the back of the couch behind Kyo's shoulders. 

He hesitated, trying to keep himself from shaking before he let his arm gently rest around Kyo's shoulders.

Kyo initially went rigid, and his shoulders tensed up. But he quickly took a deep breath, and he relaxed under the weight of Yuki's arm.

Yuki used that leverage to lean slightly toward the other couple. "Can I ask you two a personal question?"

The older Yuki looked over first, now comfortably relaxed against his partner. "A _personal_ question? To your future self? Go right ahead."

"I was just wondering if... If you two have considered adopting children."

Older Yuki grinned and slid his hand around the older Kyo's stomach. "Oh for sure. We've talked about waiting until we're a little more financially stable, but..." He glanced up at his partner. "Right?"

The older Kyo met his eyes. "Right." He pressed a quick kiss to his partner's lips, before he looked back toward the movie.

The older Yuki let his eyes drift back toward the younger pair, and he didn't even try to hide his smile at the sight of Yuki's arm around Kyo's shoulders. 

His smile faded a little when his partner began to stand from the couch, and he turned his head just to pout up at him. "Wait, no-- Comfy."

Older Kyo gently pulled himself out of his Yuki's grip, standing up slowly, careful not to spill Yuki's wine. "Your body gets warm when you drink, I need to put shorts on if you want me to keep tolerating your cuddly behavior."

"You _love_ my cuddles and you know it."

Older Kyo responded by turning to walk away, heading down the hall. 

"Will you bring some snacks on your way back?" Older Yuki called to him.

A sigh was heard down the hall.

The younger Kyo just stared at him in disbelief. 

It was truly remarkable how different this older version of Yuki was from the Yuki that Kyo currently knew. 

Unless this is just what happens when Yuki gets tipsy.

For starters, his Yuki was always cold. And he wasn't really one to snack during the day, but especially not at night. At least not to Kyo's knowledge. 

The older Yuki turned his grin to him all of a sudden. "See how much you're gonna learn to love me?"

Kyo tried to search for some kind of response to that, but luckily the tipsy man in front of him spoke again so he didn't have to say anything. 

Older Yuki took another sip of his wine, before he said, "Oh sorry! I know you guys aren't old enough or whatever, but I'm the fun parent so if you want, I can pour you a glass."

Kyo at least had an answer for that one. "No thank you."

"Yeah, you don't drink when you're older either. Not exactly surprised." His gaze shifted to his younger self. "How about you?"

Yuki couldn't believe he was actually considering it, but then he shook his head.

Older Kyo finally came back into the room, with a pair of black, athletic shorts on. He gently set down a bowl of pretzels in his partner's lap. "Pretzels okay?"

His partner smiled up at him. "Perfect. Thanks."

Older Kyo ran a hand through his Yuki's hair, to brush it out of his eyes, before he returned to his seat on the couch. 

Younger Yuki's eyes were wide, not just at the interaction, but also at how short Kyo's shorts were. Or maybe they _weren't_ short? Maybe Yuki was imagining things? 

Or maybe he just wasn't used to seeing so much of Kyo. _Right, that must be it._

Yuki took a deep breath, but immediately noticed that the older Yuki was _also_ staring at the older Kyo's legs. 

Older Yuki took a final sip of his wine, literally finishing the glass in less than two minutes if Yuki had been paying attention correctly, before he set the glass down on the table. 

Older Kyo seemed to notice too, and he spoke softly. "Take it easy on the wine, babe."

His partner just huffed, and responded playfully. "Don't tell me what to do."

"Please, Ki." He lowered his voice even more, as if not to embarrass the older Yuki. "Your asthma."

"I like, barely even _have_ asthma anymore."

"That's not true, babe. Will you just trust me on this? When have I ever steered you wrong?"

The younger Kyo accidentally interjected into the conversation. "Wait, _what?_ Wine makes asthma worse?" A pause. "What the Hell for?"

Older Yuki didn't answer him, reaching over to grab the other glass of wine on the table that he claimed to have set out for Kyo.

His partner answered instead, eyeing the newly full glass of wine cautiously as older Yuki brought it to his lips. "His doctor told me that there are a few alcohols that can make asthma worsen, yeah. Something about a sensitivity to certain sulfites that are in wine and beer."

The younger Yuki chose not to speak. He was realizing there were quite a few things he didn't know about his own asthma. 

He was also realizing that it was very endearing how much the older Kyo clearly researched the topic, specifically to help out his partner and keep him safe. 

Younger Kyo spoke up next, his eyes on the glass of wine as well. "Oh. Maybe you _shouldn't_ drink that, then."

The older Yuki pouted at him, clearly feeling a little tipsy already. "I thought having two of you would be sexy and fun, but now I've got two people telling me what to do."

Older Kyo tried to redirect his partner's focus, not wanting the younger Kyo to take any of the blame for what was going on. "We just don't want you to get hurt, babe. Not trying to tell you what to do, we just want to protect you."

"Oh... That's sweet."

"Yeah, it is. So why don't you set that glass down, and I'll go get you a glass of water in case you start coughing?"

Older Yuki paused long enough to smile, and then he set the glass of wine back down on the coffee table in front of him. "Okay."

The older version of Kyo nodded slowly, and then glanced briefly at the younger boys. "He usually doesn't let me talk him out of stuff like that... Gonna miss having you two around, I think."

**


	5. Chapter Five

Hatori arrived the next morning, so older Kyo stayed home from work to pick him up from the airport.

He knew his Yuki wouldn't be able to force himself to wake up on time, so he figured he'd just take care of it himself.

Older Kyo threw on a jacket as he was heading out his bedroom door, and suddenly heard the Yuki in his room wake up to speak to him. 

He turned around briefly. "What's that, babe? Didn't hear you."

"I said where the fuck are you going without kissing me first?" Older Yuki muttered, clearly tired, but with a grin on his face nonetheless.

His partner just scoffed, as he wandered over to Yuki's side of the bed. "Always so needy."

"It's the least you could do since you woke me up."

"Oh, whatever." Older Kyo muttered back, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to his partner's lips. "There you go, you big baby."

Yuki woke himself up a little more to sit up in bed, rubbing one of his eyes with his hand. "You look nice. Aren't you just... Going to the airport?"

"Yeah, so? I can wear a leather jacket whenever I feel like it, thank you."

Yuki smirked at him, knowingly. "Trying to impress Hatori?"

"What? No, of course not."

"Mhmm." Older Yuki crossed his arms over his chest. "All these years we've been in a relationship, you still think you can lie to me."

"Hey, I'm a _great_ liar. In fact, I told Hatori you weren't a pain in the ass anymore."

Yuki chuckled lightly and then shook his head. "You don't have anything to prove to him, honey. I hope you know that."

"No, I know." Older Kyo reached down to zip up his jacket, before admitting softly. "I just want him to see that you and I are capable of making this work." He paused, now staring at the ground. "Nobody believed we could do it, when we left. They all thought we'd come running back home within the year, unable to hand the stress of the university, and getting along with each other."

"I understand. It'll be nice to show him how successful we are at what we set out to do. But I just want to emphasize that it doesn't matter what anybody else believes, okay? You and I put the effort in, and we believe in ourselves. That's all that matters."

Kyo glanced up at him and nodded slowly, before leaning down to kiss Yuki again, a little longer this time. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, silly."

Kyo met his eyes again. "Will you be alright to wake the boys up while I'm out?"

*

Older Yuki now stood in the doorway to the guest room, with a fond look on his face at the two boys in front of him. 

The younger Kyo was facing the wall, while the younger Yuki was spooning him from behind.

They were both still asleep, and Older Yuki decided to take a moment to smile at them. 

Yuki knew that Kyo always liked being the little spoon, no matter how old they were. Whether he liked to admit it or not.

He decided it was only fair, as he knocked on the doorframe a few times. "Hey, guys. Gotta get up now."

Young Kyo immediately flinched awake, eyes darting to the doorway. "What?"

Younger Yuki gradually pulled his arm away from Kyo's waist, only to stretch his limbs in his own space. 

Older Yuki spoke again. "Sorry to wake ya... Kyo just left to pick Hatori up from the airport. So you've got like... A half hour until Hatori gets here."

*

Hatori seemed just as stoic as he'd always been. 

He greeted everyone calmly, without seeming startled at the situation. 

He left his suitcase by the front door, but held his briefcase in his hand. 

Once the group caught up with him a little bit, and the older two explained as much of the situation as they could, Hatori nodded slowly and sat in silence for a few moments. 

Sitting beside each other on the couch, the older Yuki reached over to grab his partner's hand as they waited for whatever Hatori was going to say. 

The younger Yuki looked absolutely terrified, in contrast. He sat beside his older self on the couch, with the younger Kyo standing beside Hatori in front of the coffee table.

Hatori finally spoke softly. "I will do my best, but I'm sure it goes without saying that I've never been put in this situation before, and I can't promise any results."

Older Yuki seemed to be the quickest to understand, and he spoke. "Thank you so much, for showing up on such short notice. We'll be absolutely grateful for anything you might discover. I just... Wasn't sure who else to call."

"I understand that the situation is hard for all of you. I'll do my best to bring you some answers." He nodded at the older Kyo as well, before placing his briefcase down on the table to open it and search through his paperwork.

The older Kyo suddenly let out a loud sigh, giving his partner's hand a quick squeeze. 

Older Yuki immediately let go of his hand, just to place a hand on his Kyo's back. "Hey, it'll be alright. We called in the big guns this time, you don't have anything to worry about."

Older Kyo just nodded, and took another deep breath to calm himself down. "I admire your optimism."

Hatori hummed. "As do I." He held out a packet of paperwork that was stapled together and began flipping through it. "I brought some research with me, from my time spent learning my family's practice."

The younger Yuki immediately sat up taller at the sight of it and glanced at his Kyo briefly. "Hey, that looks like a much older and more dirty copy of the thing you picked up in Hatori's office when we left."

Hatori looked up at him briefly. _"This_ document?"

"Yeah. He was holding it, and then we ended up here."

"You must've accidentally said or done something that sent you here. I can't imagine that ten years ago, I allowed you to touch the things in my office?"

"No, I... I was there for an appointment and was told to wait in your office. But Kyo's a little more prone to touch things that aren't his."

Hatori nodded once. "Ah, I see. Well, if you're sure it's this document, then that narrows it down quite a bit."

The youngest version of Yuki nodded. "I'm sure."

*

Regardless of how sure he was, Hatori could only do his best.

The first thing he tried, was definitely not the correct one.

It did _not_ send the younger Yuki and Kyo to their correct time period, and it seemed at first that nothing had changed at all. 

Hatori was worried that the results may take a few hours to come into effect, and he didn't want to stress their bodies too much, so they had decided to wait before he tried anything else. 

Hatori seemed to be correct because it wasn't until dinner that the younger Kyo suddenly fell out of his chair and collapsed onto the floor. 

The younger Yuki jumped out of his chair in shock and quickly knelt down beside him. "Oh my-- Kyo, are you okay?"

The older version of Kyo had been standing in the kitchen, and he immediately collapsed as well.

Hatori first came to the younger Kyo, kneeling beside him to check his pulse and make sure that he was still breathing. He spoke up in a loud voice. "Kyo, can you hear me?"

The older Yuki was already out of his seat to check on his husband, and he rushed into the kitchen. 

The younger Kyo sat up first, and he was rubbing at his eyes before he looked up at Hatori. "What the fuck was that?"

Hatori was trying to hold him down with a hand on chest. "Take it easy, Kyo. You just fainted."

He suddenly looked confused. "Wait what the--? How'd I get over here?" He shoved Hatori's hands away abruptly. "You didn't carry me over here, did you?"

"I beg your--?"

"Oh _Hell_ no." Kyo suddenly interrupted him, now staring down at his arms. "Oh fuck."

The older Kyo suddenly marched into the room. "This is the strongest I've ever been."

Hatori's face shifted with a knowing look, as he slowly stood from the floor. "Oh, I see what's happening. I can fix this."

Older Yuki walked into the room with a smile on his face, trying to lighten the mood of the situation. He approached his partner, now in a smaller body. "Oh my goodness, look how cute."

Regardless of the body he was in, older Kyo's glare came through just as sharp. "Fuck off. Don't _ever_ call me cute, not ever again."

Hatori just stepped away from them and walked toward his briefcase. "Okay, nobody panic, I can fix this."

The younger Yuki was just looking back and forth between the two Kyos, trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

Older Yuki was just the opposite, now standing in front of the shorter Kyo which was currently his husband with a large grin on his face. "Wow, you're absolutely adorable."

"Yuki, I asked you not to call--"

"You said not to call you cute! And I didn't."

"I hate you. I hate every tall, adult inch of you." He turned to march toward Hatori. "Please hurry."

Hatori just looked concerned, staring down at his paperwork. "I may have some bad news, unfortunately. I'd like to request a few hours to review this more thoroughly to ensure I don't make a mistake again. I apologize for any distress this causes any of you, I would just feel more comfortable acting when I'm more certain of what I'm doing."

Older Yuki spoke first, now clinging to his partner's suddenly small arm. "That's fine. Perhaps we just sleep on it, and then get back to it in the morning?"

"Yes, that might be best. I'll stay up tonight to work on it, and have a better answer in the morning."

The older Kyo sighed loudly, from his smaller body. "I hate it. But fine."

The younger Yuki finally seemed to come out of his trance, speaking softly to his version of Kyo, which was suddenly taller than him. "Is that alright with you?"  
  


"It's fine." Younger Kyo mumbled, staring down at his feet.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just... _Really_ uncomfortable all of a sudden."

The older Kyo in the smaller body muttered something right beside him. "I know exactly how you feel."

The younger Kyo rolled his uncomfortably heavy shoulders, and looked up at Hatori. "I, uh.." He spoke to himself softly. "Wow, my voice is deep." Before speaking up louder, toward Hatori. "I know we took the guest room, but... I can take the couch if you want to sleep in there."

Hatori glanced at him, still sifting through papers. "I'll be fine. As long as somebody shows me where the coffee pot is, I'm comfortable taking the couch."

**


	6. Chapter Six

"Dude, you are so creepy right now."

"Why, because I think you're cute?" Older Yuki challenged his partner, with a smirk. 

Older Kyo had decided to put on a very large pair of sweatpants and an equally large sweater before going to bed. "Yes. Because you think I'm cute, and I'm pretty sure I'm seventeen right now."

"This might surprise you, but the seventeen year old version of you is who I fell in love with. In case you've forgotten."

"I didn't forget, but we're not seventeen anymore. And it makes me feel kinda uncomfortable that you're trying to come onto me right now."

Older Yuki continued to smirk, from where he was sprawled out in their shared bed. "I'm not gonna apologize for being attracted to any and every version of you."

His partner rolled his eyes, and sat down on the edge of the bed as far from Yuki as he possibly could. "Whatever. Not gonna argue about it."

"Pretty sure we're already arguing."

"Oh, so now you wanna argue about if we're _actually_ arguing or not?"

Yuki finally broke and giggled to himself. "I guess not." He paused, and then frowned. "Will you at least lay beside me? I won't touch you if you're gonna be weird about it, but at least cuddle with me?"

Older Kyo sighed loudly, staring down at his skinny, teenage arms. "I guess."

His partner just frowned even more, and finally moved to sit on the edge of the bed directly beside Kyo. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Older Kyo refused to look up. "Not really."

"Y'know... I kinda forgot what you looked like without tattoos." Older Yuki slid his arm around Kyo's shoulders. "Makes me appreciate how sexy your arms are."

Older Kyo couldn't help but grimace, and he sat up taller just to shove Yuki's arm away. "Ki, stop." He softened his tone to speak again. "I see what you're trying to do, but... I just feel super uncomfortable."

Yuki pulled his arm away, and tried not to look as offended as he felt. "Okay, can't blame a guy for trying."

"I'm sorry," Kyo responded, in an almost defeated tone.

"Don't be. I'm coming on too strong, I get it. And I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, I just... I just love you, Kyo. You know that." Older Yuki tried to catch Kyo's eyes. "I've loved you for such a long time."

*

In the guest room, the younger Kyo was feeling similarly uncomfortable. "Seriously, stop staring at me."

"I'm not staring, I just. I can't believe there's gonna come a day that you look like that."

Younger Kyo had just been laying in bed, minding his own business. But Yuki decided to climb into the bed directly behind him and slide an arm over his waist, which Kyo didn't exactly appreciate. 

Kyo didn't exactly love the response he'd just gotten either, so he shoved Yuki's arm away. "So, what is this then? You're only into me now because you think I'm gonna get super hot all of a sudden when I'm twenty eight?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't need to."

Yuki squinted at him, now on the other side of the bed with a sizable gap between the two of them. "So you're under the impression that I don't find you attractive at the age you currently are?"

"Well, you never acted like this around me until we got here, so. Yeah, I'm inclined to think that."

"And it never occurred to you that it might be for a different reason?"

"Nope."

"So... It's not at all possible that I didn't think there was any chance of you liking me until we met the other couple? You don't exactly come across as warm and fuzzy toward me."

"That's not my fault. You're not a saint either, Yuki."

"I didn't say that I was. I'm just saying, that... If I'm being honest, I hadn't really considered that you and I could ever be more than friends at best. But... Seeing how compatible and... _Happy,_ our older selves are. I just... I figure it's worth a shot, don't you?"

Kyo turned to lay on his broad back to glare at Yuki. "You say all this shit now, but what happens when we get back home, and you change your mind? I'm not gonna put my heart out there for you to step on, Yuki."

Yuki finally let his face shift to show some of the pain he was feeling. "You're so convinced that I'm going to hurt you, you won't even try."

"You can't expect me to just forget all of the shit we've done to each other in the past."

"I'm not asking you to." Yuki finally sighed and turned to look away. "You're not the only one putting their heart on the line. But isn't it worth the risk? For a shot at happiness?"

*

Hatori seemed to have figured something out, because Yuki woke up to the younger version of Kyo laying beside him. 

Yuki couldn't help but grin a little, as he reached over to gently trace his fingertips along Kyo's cheekbone.

Kyo's eyes immediately opened, and his facial expression didn't change. "What?"

"I missed your stupid face," Yuki responded softly, with a grin playing at his lips.

Kyo reached a hand up to hold in front of his face, to check for tattoos on his arms. "Sorry to disappoint. Got my ugly back."

"Will you shut up? That's not what I said at all."

Kyo used the same hand to push Yuki's hand away from his face. "Do we have to argue right away? I've been awake for less than a minute."

Yuki took a deep breath, refusing to look away from Kyo's eyes. "I don't want to argue at all. I just wish you'd believe me."

"You're just not very convincing, I guess."

Yuki stared at him for a few moments, as Kyo lay on his back staring up at the ceiling.

Without thinking it through all the way, Yuki lifted his body from the bed just enough to crawl over and hover above Kyo, hands flat on either side of Kyo's shoulders. 

Kyo just stared at him, not moving an inch. "What are you doing?" The question came out like a demand, but it lacked the fire that usually laced Kyo's words.

Yuki only hesitated a moment, eyes flashing down to Kyo's lips before he leaned down to press his lips against the lips below him.

Kyo froze in place, eyes wide at the reality of the situation. After a few moments of Yuki not relenting, Kyo allowed himself to give in and he brought his hands up to gently cradle Yuki's face as he kissed back. 

Yuki pulled away almost immediately after, his confidence running out, although he bravely continued to stare into Kyo's eyes. "How's that for convincing?"

Kyo couldn't help but smirk a little before he mumbled back. "I think you might need to convince me a little more."

**


	7. Chapter Seven

The younger Kyo glanced down, as he felt his version of Yuki squeeze his hand.

Yuki was staring at him to catch his eyes, before he spoke softly. "You promise it's not gonna change anything?"

Hatori just stared at them expectantly, with a book in his hands and an exhausted but patient look on his face. 

The older pair of men stood off to Hatori's side, watching with almost fond looks on their face. 

The younger Kyo met his Yuki's eyes, and nodded once. "As long as you promise not to give up on me."

That brought a smile to the younger Yuki's face. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Kyo decided to allow his eyes to linger on that smile, rather than glancing to Hatori as he began reading out of a book. 

The older Kyo stepped forward suddenly, just to place a small piece of paper into his younger version's hand, Hatori still reading whatever aloud. 

The Kyos made eye contact, as the older Kyo spoke. "Thank you for reminding me to cherish every moment."

The younger Kyo hardly opened his mouth to respond, before there was a flash of light in front of his eyes, and he wasn't standing in the same room anymore. 

It took a moment for him to orient himself. He glanced down at his feet, to see that he was now standing on a sidewalk. He registered the sound of a car passing by several feet in front of him, and then his eyes moved to the piece of paper in his hand.

Immediately his eyes slid over to his other hand, that still held Yuki's paler hand. 

Kyo's eyes then moved up again to find Yuki's face.

Making eye contact with the boy beside him, Yuki couldn't help but reach out to hug him. 

Kyo hugged back, in an extremely gentle way which was uncharacteristic of him to do.

Yuki noticed, and leaned back quickly to meet his eyes again. "What?"

Kyo just blinked. "What?"

"Something's wrong. Why aren't you excited?" Yuki deflated a little bit. "You liked it back there, huh?"

"I mean, yeah, I liked not arguing with you. But that's not what's--" Kyo stopped himself, and then looked down. "Sorry, I should be excited. I know." He was speaking softly, which was equally strange for him.

Yuki's eyebrows came together in concern, as he prompted carefully. "Tell me?"

He almost didn't wanna know. What if Kyo had changed his mind? What if he decided he didn't want to remain friends?

Kyo kept his eyes down. "Just a little overwhelmed."

Yuki reached out to place a hand on Kyo's shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Yeah, me too. But I'm just glad everything worked out, y'know? I mean, we're home."

Kyo nodded slowly, but wouldn't allow himself to look up. "I know."

"Okay well, can you tell me--?"

A voice interrupted their quiet conversation. "Boys!" Ah yes, that would be Shigure.

Yuki looked over abruptly, not missing how he felt Kyo's body flinch at the sudden noise. "Yes?"

"I've been looking for you. Why aren't you at your appointment?"

Yuki blinked at him, and then realized he had no idea how long they'd been gone. It was a few days, he thought. But Shigure didn't seem worried enough for them to have been gone for multiple days. "Oh." Was the only thing he could come up with.

Shigure finally walked all the way over to them, and frowned at Kyo's appearance. "You couldn't just argue in Hatori's office? Had to drag each other across the street for your nonsense?"

Once again, Yuki blinked before answering, trying to ground himself in this conversation. "My bad. Um... Is Hatori in there now?"

"Should be. I walked past him a little bit ago." Shigure responded easily, before turning his focus to Kyo. "We can go to the store as soon as he's done, okay? I promise I'm not prioritizing anybody above anybody else."

Kyo spoke softly again. "That's fine."

Yuki spoke to Shigure then, in a confident tone. "Will you please give us a moment? Tell Hatori I'll be right there, and I apologize for wasting his time."

Shigure gave him an uneasy glance, and a pointed stare toward Kyo. "Are you sure that's a good idea? He doesn't seem like he can take anything else coming from you."

Kyo was the one to speak up. "It's fine."

After a few more reassurances, Shigure gave them a cautious look before walking back toward the large property.

Yuki waited for him to be gone, and then used a few of his fingers under Kyo's chin to lift his head enough for them to make eye contact. "Hey."

Kyo didn't push his hand away, or make a fuss at all. He just stared at him.

Yuki tried to give him a soft smile. "You don't need to worry about us, okay? If... If we follow the path of the other two, I will be overjoyed. And even if we don't, I hope you know that this experience has led me to hope for the best for us."

Kyo spoke up, because Yuki didn't understand what he was thinking. "Do you really think the curse will break?"

Yuki paused a moment to search his eyes, catching up to his train of thought. "I believe that we all deserve a fair shot at happiness. And... I believe that you're too good of a person to be locked away forever."

Kyo nodded slowly. "So... You think it will? We're less than a month away if... If it does."

Yuki moved his hand, to place both hands on the sides of Kyo's face. "I can't say anything for sure, Kyo. You know that. But... I believe that we have suffered long enough. All I want is the opportunity to be happy, with you by my side."

Kyo finally allowed himself to smile. "And... In theory, if it _does_ break... Would you like to move somewhere far away like they did?"

Yuki smiled at the sight of Kyo's bright smile, and he leaned forward to press a quick kiss to those lips before speaking softly. "I'd follow you anywhere."

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is where I was planning on ending this BUTTTT
> 
> I decided it might be interesting to see how things go with a little time skip ;)


	8. Chapter Eight

The days leading up to Kyo's birthday, Kyo hardly slept.

He was an absolute wreck at the thought of his life changing forever. And even more so than that, he was absolutely devastated at the thought of his life _not_ changing.

He'd spent so much time getting to know Yuki in the past month, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be torn away from him, and locked in a cage.

Yuki had tried to tell him it would all be fine, but Kyo decided that he didn't want to talk about it.

In fact, he decided that if he was potentially gonna get locked away, he wanted to enjoy every moment of freedom that he got. 

On the final night of Kyo being seventeen, he spent the entirety of the night in Yuki's arms. And while he wanted to cry for the loss of his freedom, he didn't allow himself to.

There was going to be plenty of time to cry when Akito locked him away, so he made the executive decision to just enjoy the time he had.

Yuki was incredibly worried though. The more Kyo hid these feelings away, the more worried Yuki became.

Around midnight, Kyo still hadn't been able to fall asleep.

Yuki had asked, laying on his back with his arms around Kyo's waist. "What time were you born?"

Kyo spoke softly to him, with his ear pressed to Yuki's chest. "Like four thirty, I think."

"In the morning?"

"Yeah."

"Ah. Explains a lot."

Kyo moved his head enough to shoot Yuki a glare. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Yuki's only response was a look full of love and adoration, as he gently carded his fingers through Kyo's hair. "Like... Why you have hair the color of a sunrise, and eyes that warm everything they see, like the sun reaching out across the land."

Kyo just stared at him. "Shut up, you're just saying that because I wake up early."

Yuki took a deep breath, and spoke just as gently. "No, I'm saying that because I love you, you idiot."

Kyo's eyes widened, and he shoved Yuki's chest to push their bodies apart. "Don't you dare."

"Don't what?" Yuki's eyes were still shining with admiration for the boy in front of him. "Don't admit my true feelings for you?"

"That's not what you're doing. Don't-- Don't say shit to me that sounds like you're saying goodbye."

"I'm not saying goodbye, Kyo. You're not going anywhere tomorrow, okay? We're gonna wake up, and everything will change." Yuki grinned again. "Well, everything except how much I love you."

Kyo quickly covered his ears with his hands, as he sat straight up in bed. The comforter fell from his shoulders to pool up around his waist, showing off the bare skin of his torso. "Don't!"

Yuki sat up too, much slower. He wrapped one arm around Kyo's waist, as he used his free hand to gently pull one of Kyo's hands from his ears. "Why not?"

Kyo squeezed his eyes shut. "You can't say that shit to me, knowing I might never get to see you again."

"That's not what's gonna happen. If Akito tries to take you, then I'm going with you." Yuki responded confidently, now holding Kyo's hand in his own. 

"That's not--"

"Yes it is." Yuki interrupted, still speaking with a fearless tone. "I'm not sure if our future will be like the older two that we met, but I also don't know for sure that it _won't_ be like that. And regardless of where life takes us, I know that I'm going to fight to stay beside you. Because... If the future has taught me anything, it's that the key to my happiness is you."

*

Kyo still didn't fall asleep. 

Yuki said he'd stay up with him until four in the morning, but soon fell asleep, and Kyo didn't have the heart to wake him.

Kyo just stared up at the ceiling for the rest of the night, trying to remember all the parts of his life that he'd enjoyed.

He was too terrified to check the clock beside him, as he lay there thinking. 

He realized that some of the best times of his life had been spent not only with this Yuki, but with the older Yuki that he'd met. 

Kyo's eyes widened as he remembered the paper that his older self had handed him. 

He'd stuffed it into his pocket that day, and completely forgotten.

Just as he stood from the bed, he felt something surge through him in such an aggressive way he genuinely thought he'd electrocuted himself somehow.

Kyo fell to the ground with a loud gasp, hand coming up to clutch at his heart as if he feared it would stop.

Yuki was startled by the noise, and he sat up. "Kyo?" He immediately spoke, in a tiredly worried tone.

Kyo was panting now, laying flat on his back on the floor of Yuki's bedroom. "What the fuck?" He muttered.

Yuki climbed out of bed to sit beside him, his eyes wide in concern. "Are you alright? Did you trip on something?"

With a grip on Yuki's hand, Kyo pulled himself to sit up. He instantly looked at the clock on Yuki's bedside table, and saw what time it was.

He grinned possibly the largest smile he ever had, and turned to give Yuki the strongest hug he could muster. "Something changed."

"Well that's a relief." Yuki mumbled, hugging back. "Are you hurt at all? What happened?"

Kyo squeezed him even tighter for a moment, before pulling away to meet his eyes. "No, no, let me rephrase. _Everything_ changed." He paused, and spoke again. "Well, except for the fact that I'm devastatingly in love with you."

Yuki paused a moment to fully absorb those words, and then suddenly he felt a sort of fire in all of his nerves. Yuki's smile fell, and he stared down at his body as if he expected to see himself bleeding somewhere.

Kyo watched him, and his smile began to fall too.

Yuki had squeezed his eyes shut briefly, but when they snapped back open, he stared into Kyo's eyes. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

Yuki stared down at his hands. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just knew. He felt the burden of the Zodiac curse lift from his shoulders, and he felt lighter.

He didn't feel as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his back, and he no longer felt obligated to please others.

He spoke in a whisper. "It's gone."

Yuki's eyes snapped back up at the sound of Kyo sniffling, and he reached out to grab him.

Kyo finally broke down for the first time that night.

His head bowed as tears flowed down his cheeks, hands reaching forward to grab onto Yuki's upper arms to have something to ground him.

Yuki surged forward to hug him, allowing Kyo to bury his face in Yuki's neck. 

Yuki ran a hand up and down Kyo's back. "Hey, it's okay. Did you feel it too? It's-- It's okay if you didn't, I'm sure you will soon."

Kyo just shook his head, and let out a whimper that nearly broke Yuki's heart. "I felt it, I-- I felt it." He spoke in an unsteady tone. "I felt the chains come off, I-- I felt it."

Yuki just held him after that.

It took a few minutes for Kyo to calm down and catch his breath, and when he finally did, Yuki couldn't help but smile a little. "Oh, happy birthday, by the way."

Kyo let out a breathy laugh, and pressed a quick kiss to Yuki's shoulder before leaning away. 

He met Yuki's eyes, with red, puffy circles around his own. 

Kyo began wiping at his face. "If you tell _anybody_ about this, I'll fucking kill you."

Yuki just grinned at the statement. "I'd like to see you try." He mumbled back in a playful way, not feeling inclined to argue.

Kyo sniffled a few more times. "Fucker." He muttered, as he continued wiping the tears from his face.

Yuki reached out to use his thumb to wipe a few tears from Kyo's face as well. "So... Considering you've been awake for like three consecutive days, perhaps we should get some rest now?"

Kyo looked almost startled. "Are you kidding? This is the first time I've tasted freedom in the last eighteen years and you want me to go straight to sleep?"

"Freedom isn't equivalent to invincibility, Kyo-Kyo. You still need to take care of yourself." Yuki tried to give him an example, from where they were still sitting on the floor. "I'm recalling you throwing a fit when the twenty eight year old version of me forgot where his inhaler was."

Kyo suddenly gasped, recalling the older pair. "Oh shit."

He stood from the floor to find where he'd tossed his jeans the night before, which ended up being on Yuki's desk chair in the corner of the room.

He hoped the note was even still there. It could've fallen out at any time, or gotten ruined in the laundry, since Kyo had been so forgetful and irresponsible about it.

Luckily it seemed that he didn't wash his jeans very often, because sure enough the note was in the front pocket.

Kyo tossed his jeans back down as he unfolded the note to read it.

Yuki was suddenly behind him, setting his chin on Kyo's shoulder with his arms around Kyo's waist to read the note over Kyo's shoulder. "Oh, I forgot all about that."

"Me too." Kyo mumbled, as he unfolded the paper and stared at the words.

'Two things you should know - The key to happiness is to be free to be what you want to be. And the key to Yuki, is unconditional love.'

Kyo read it once, and twice, and then flipped the note over to make sure there was nothing on the back.

Yuki spoke up softly, with a grin. "At least your handwriting gets better in the future."

"Hey, wow, fuck you." Kyo responded in a flat tone, as he squinted at the note.

Yuki just chuckled, watching him turn the note over a few times. "What are you looking for?"

"I don't know, I just... I thought there would be more."

"Apparently that's all you need to know."

"But... I'm such a fuck up, how am I supposed to automatically know how to do everything he did?"

Yuki stepped back, to turn him around by the shoulder. "That's not the point, Kyo. It's not about making sure you end up just like he did. It's about being free to be _whoever_ you want to be."

**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yes, good choice on my part this was a MUCH better place to end ;)


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